


Liminal

by starstruck93



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, Fluff, M/M, One sided, Parallel Universes, Slow Burn, really - Freeform, sort of, theres a plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-07-28 20:38:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7655869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstruck93/pseuds/starstruck93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>General Hux finds himself having very vivid dreams where he's married to Kylo Ren, and they both live on a planet called Earth. Hux disregards these dreams as nothing more than an active imagination or possibly stress, that is, until the dreams start leaking through into his real life. Are they really just dreams?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

The planet was crumbling around him. Large earthquakes that nearly knocked Hux to the ground deterred him from his destination, but he pressed on, willing his legs to remain steady. The officers were evacuating. The Stormtroopers were looking for orders that weren’t coming in the chaos of it all. Hux only had one objective at hand, and it was to get the defeated Kylo Ren off of the crumbling planet before the Knight disintegrated into a pile of space dust. 

The General boarded his shuttle with the first handful of Stormtroopers that had been in the area. Even through their helmets, they looked relieved to be given orders in the chaos. They piled in, and with the tracker on Kylo’s belt, Hux reached the man in record time. He wasn’t very far from the base, but he was in bad shape. Hux could see the bright red blood pooling in the white snow before they even fully landed. 

Hux briskly walked out, Troopers at his side, and they scraped up what was left of Kylo Ren. Smoke and ash blew around them, and Hux sent a smug smirk toward the defeated Knight. Seeing him in such a state brought a great satisfaction. Even with all his so called gifts and physical power, he could still be knocked down to this wreck, shattering the illusion that the dark haired man has seem so adamant about keeping up. He wasn’t indestructible. He was just as vulnerable and human as the rest of them. 

The trip back to the Finalizer was short, but docking back into the main shuttlebay was where the havoc started. Hux couldn’t bring Kylo back to Snoke in the shape he currently was. He needed to get him medical treatment before he bled out. And to do that, they really needed to dock right away. Why weren’t they allowing him in? He had the right clearance codes. 

“This is your General speaking, requesting permission to land!” Hux growled into the comm, when the entrance wasn’t opened up to them immediately. There were other ships around them as well, trying to gain entry back into the Finalizer. More than the usual traffic, which was causing the jam to begin with, but he was the General. He deserved priority didn’t he? 

“General Hux? Lieutenant Rodinon stated that you had deserted.” Came the dubious reply on the speaker. 

Anger bubbled in Hux like a volcano, and he pressed on the receiver too hard. “I have not deserted! I was on a personal mission from Snoke to retrieve the defeated Kylo Ren. I have him on board, if you don’t allow us to land this instant, he’ll die!” 

The comm was silent on the other end for a moment before Hux saw that they were pulling the ship in for landing. He huffed out in frustration, and allowed them to dock his ship. 

Deserted? Hux couldn’t believe that they thought he had done something as cowardly as desert the First Order. He had full confidence in his men to know the outcome of what should happen if Starkiller were to fall. They were taught what to do in an emergency. He shouldn’t have to have been there to baby them through it. They just should have known. If he hadn’t had left, Kylo would have been dead. 

As much as Hux would have wanted that, they couldn’t take any more big losses. 

A stretcher for Kylo Ren was awaiting them as soon as the doors opened. Hux strode out into the shuttlebay, greeted by Colonel Datoo, who was eyeing him with a sneer.  
“What is this about me deserting, Colonel?” Hux barked out instantly as he closed the distance, face covered in soot and ash from having been on the planet before it imploded. “Your Lieutenant seems to be spreading false rumours.” 

“Lieutenant Rodinon abandoned his post because his General had not bothered to stay long enough to command us to safety.” The Colonel replied cooly, “Another one of my Lieutenants spotted you running from the scene, the second you realized it was all going to shit.”

“I was reporting to the Supreme Leader!” Hux snapped, using his height to loom over the older shorter man. “Had I not, we would have lost two assets today.” 

“That beast Kylo Ren?” Datoo scoffed. “We don’t need him and you know it. You despise that irresponsible brat. None of us believe that when our defeat started to show, that he was your first priority. It sounds to me that you were looking for an excuse to run away.” 

Hux grit his teeth, holding back a punch to the man. How dare he suggest that. “You utter fool.” He seethed, reaching out to grip at the Colonel’s uniform, wishing he had the strength to haul him up and shake him. “How dare you suggest such things about me! If you think smearing my name, and thinking that this is your chance at taking command as General, you’re sorely mistaken!” Hux paused as a wave of lightheadedness took over. He saw double for a moment and he blinked it away. 

“I am General of this ship!” Hux growled, eyes wild from adrenaline, and hair in disarray. “You will be wise to not spread the rumor that I had deserted. I-I…” The General paused again, blinked heavily as the edges of his vision started blacking out, and he found it suddenly hard to breath. “I…” His grip on the Colonel loosened and he stumbled backward. 

“You don’t look so good, General.” Datoo mentioned casually, eyebrows knitting together as he looked upon the other officer, but not a hint of concern. 

“Sir?” Hux turned as he heard a trooper beside him, looking ready to catch him should he fall. “Sir are you alright? Should I escort you to the Medical Bay?” She asked, and Hux shook his head. 

“I’m fine.” Hux found himself falling to the ground only a moment after he breathed out those two words. Two hands under his arms supported him up and he heard the Trooper asking for a stretcher. Hux suddenly found it very hard to breath. He pulled at his collar, gasping heavily, vision going blurry from both tears and light headedness. 

His body was placed on a stretcher and escorted down to the Medical Bay. A respirator was placed on his face, and he found it a little easier to breath, but the pressure along his chest remained, not giving him full relief. 

A bright light shined down on him, and Hux realized that he was on a medical examination scanner. He squinted, and he heard a droid instructing him not to move. A few noises and beeps later, a diagnosis was spoken to him. 

“You’ve breathed in toxic gas. Most likely from the inside of Starkillers core being exposed and burned while you were on it’s surface. Kylo Ren is also exhibiting signs of this as well.” The droid announced to him. “I’m going to put you under so that we can flush your body of these toxins.” 

“No…” Hux protested weakly. Colonel Datoo was in the midsts of taking his ship from him. He wouldn’t allow it. He needed to be awake. The General felt his body moved to a bed, and needles puncturing into him. His head turned in distress only to see Kylo Ren on the bed next to him, eyes closed, skin pale as if he were dead. 

“I am sorry, General Hux, but you need to be unconscious during this, or you can disrupt the process. If we don’t start now, you will die in about an hour. You will be asleep on this bed while the fluids make their way through your system, and you will wake in a day’s time.” 

“No!” Hux protested again, but the droid had administered the sedative right after it’s little speech. “How dare you! I am the General! I said no, and you must ...follow...orders…” The red head’s speech slurred and he saw his vision growing blurry. His head lulled to the side, and the last thing he saw before the sedative took him under, was Kylo Ren across from him. 

Hux woke with a gasp. He clutched at his chest, feeling a soft fabric over his skin. A loud beeping noise was filling his ears, that he assumed was a medical device. He sucked in a few breaths, before realizing that it didn’t hurt to breath anymore. Gray dim light was shining down on him that wasn’t like the cold white lights of the Medical Bay. 

Hux carefully sat up. The needles and fluids that had been attached to him before were gone, and so was his uniform. He was wearing some kind of...grey sleepwear that was nothing like the one they issued in the Medical Bay or anywhere on the Finalizer for that matter. 

Looking up from his body, Hux flinched slightly when he realized he wasn’t in a medical room at all. He was in some sort of bedroom. And the loud beeping noise was coming from an odd kind of alarm next to him to his left. It was clearly an alarm, but it wasn’t like any alarm he’s ever seen. The machinery was foreign. Not First Order issued. 

“Turn it off already, Armitage. It’s Sunday…” 

Hux flinched again, barely noticing he wasn’t the only one in the room, or in the bed for that matter. He turned with wide eyes. There was a man in bed next to him. Face pressed into the pillow, and turned away. Hux could only see dark messy curls, a naked back that was decorated in dark moles, and large muscular arms were tucked under a pillow. The rest was covered with a blanket. 

“W-Who the hell are y-you?” Hux breathed, quickly looking around for his blaster. It was gone. Had they relocated him to some sort of recovery room that he hadn’t known they had? No that didn’t make any sense. He knew every room on his ship. The sound of rain suddenly pattering on the window outside, made Hux turn with wide eyes. 

When had they gone planet side?!

The figure on the bed next to him turned over, until he was lying on his back. It was then that Hux was able to see that the man had been Kylo Ren. 

“Kylo!” Hux blurted in shock, as he scrambled out of the bed and stood at the side. A million questions were filling his head at once. 

“Babe… shhh. It’s too early.” The dark haired man mumbled, from his position on the bed, “Please turn the alarm off already.” 

“Don’t call me that! Why are you calling me that!?” Hux snapped, voice sounding a little too panicked for his liking. He made a grab at the alarm clock and turned it in his hand. He hit it with his palm a few times, at the buttons until it turned off. 

“You’re moody this morning. Come back to bed…” Came the sleepy reply from Kylo, before he turned over on his other side, so Hux could clearly see his sleeping face. 

Hux did not respond. He didn’t know how to respond to that. All he did was return the alarm and back out of the room, fleeing from the odd scene. He found himself in a hall, unknown rooms behind doors, and pictures decorating the walls. The doors all looking primitive; opening outward with a doorknob. 

Hux stepped closer to the pictures along the wall, eyes wide with confusion, as he saw his own familiar face in them. And Kylo’s as well in some of them. There was a simple one of just himself and Kylo smiling while eating some kind of ice cream treat. Below it was a picture of himself and Kylo again, this time holding a small orange kitten. Besides that was a picture depicting some kind of fishing trip in a very primitive looking boat. And above that, a picture of himself and Kylo positioned at an altar of sorts, with flowers around them, wearing odd formal wear. Hux wasn’t stupid. He knew a wedding when he saw one. 

Hux glanced down in horror, noticing the wedding band around his finger. His back hit the wall, backing up in shock and confusion. He took a few breaths before slamming his hands against his face. 

“Wake up. Wake up!” He hissed, slapping his cheeks until they grew red. But if felt real. Everything felt real. He could feel the chill in the house. The burning along his cheeks. He could smell the cleaning products used in the house. But nothing was making sense. 

Hux swallowed and stumbled out of the hall into the main room. Nothing looked right. The decoration, didn’t look like from any planet that he knew. The technology was primitive in ways, some just different. The pictures had been on paper, not a holo. The clothing in the pictures were somehow exotic. 

Hux opened the front door, heart beating hard against his chest. He ran out, rain soaking his pajamas and hair instantly, as he found himself on a paved road, odd looking vehicles parked around him. The loud buzzing of some kind of flying vehicle flew overhead. Noises he’s never heard, things he’s never seen before, surrounded him, and Hux was nearly spinning in a circle as he tried to figure out just what in the hell was going on!

“Hux!” 

The General turned, hearing his name being shouted from the direction of the house. Kylo was at the doorframe, looking out in worry. His torso was still naked, but a pair of sweats covered his legs. 

“Hux, what are you doing? Come inside.” Kylo insisted. 

“What am I doing?” Hux asked, blinking rain from his eyes, before fixing Kylo with a suspicious glare. “What’s happening?! Which planet are we on?” 

Kylo was silent for a moment, still looking at Hux with worried brown eyes. 

“Um...Earth? Hux, babe, come inside before you get sick.” 

“Don’t call me that!” Hux shouted, taking a step away further from Kylo. He’s never heard of Earth before. It wasn’t in the system they were in. Was it the planet Snoke was on? Hux couldn’t actively believe that he’d be on a place like this. 

“What the hell is going on with you? Come inside.” Kylo insisted again, before walking out into the rain himself. 

Hux backed up again, bare feet against the rough pavement. A loud honking shocked him, and he turned toward the primitive wheeled vehicle. 

“Get off the road!” Hux heard being shouted at him. A hand was suddenly on his arm, dragging him away, and turned to realize it was Kylo. 

“Let go! Let go!” Hux squirmed in Kylo’s grip, and the other man released him quickly. 

“Hux, you’re worrying me. What’s happening?” Hux had never seen such concern on Kylo’s face. He barely even saw Kylo’s face since the man seemed to like hiding it all the time behind that stupid mask of his. 

“You’re asking me what’s happening?” Hux squinted, only realizing that his vision was a bit blurry when Kylo was this close to him. He blinked rapidly and rubbed at his eyes. Didn’t he get his vision fixed when he was a child? “Where are we? Why aren’t we on the Finalizer?” 

“The what?” 

Hux glanced up at Kylo, confusion still contorting his features. “What game are you playing?! The Finalizer! My ship! The ship I am General of!” 

Kylo’s concern only grew and Hux found the hold on his arm return. He was being dragged back inside that house. 

“Hux...obviously you’re having some sort of episode. I think we should call someone. Or get you to a hospital. Let’s get inside before you get hit by a car or something.” 

Hux struggled to get out of the hold, but found that Kylo was as strong as ever. Hadn’t he been nearly dead on a Medical Bay bed hours ago? Where was the injury on his side and across his face? 

“Oh I get it. This is Datoo’s doing! He saw me vulnerable and had us shucked out into some unknown planet so he can take over!” That made sense. Right? It didn’t explain most of it, but it explained why he and Kylo seemed to be in this odd house, on this so called Earth. 

“I’m going to call your mother. See if you’ve ever done something like this.” Kylo spoke. 

“My mother? My mother’s dead.” Hux breathed. 

Kylo halted, before turning to the smaller man. “Since when?” 

“Since...I was five. The Rebels took the p-planet...she was caught in the crossfire…” 

“Hux-what? You spoke to her last week.” Kylo stated in with concern. 

The General paused. No he hadn’t. His mother was dead. That’s what his father had told him. Hux found himself ushered back into that house, and lead to a couch. 

“Just relax. Maybe it’s all this stress from your job. Maybe you’re high on something, I don’t fucking know.” Kylo said, before going to get what Hux noticed look like some kind of comm device. “Are you high?” 

“I’m not on any kriffing drugs or hallucinogens.” Hux snapped, though he wasn’t entirely sure now.  
Kylo raised an eyebrow at him. He put the comm device up to his ear, before leaving the room and returning with a towel. He handed it to Hux, which the General took and wiped the rain off his face and hair with. Kylo was speaking with someone now, presumably the one Kylo thought was his mother. That was impossible however. His mother was dead. 

“- I dont know. He just woke up like this. What? No… he said he was a General or something? He seems really confused.” 

Hux glared at Kylo as he spoke on the phone, the dark haired man pacing before him. 

“She wants to talk to you.” Kylo said after a few moments, handing the comm over to Hux. The General tentatively took the device, and examined it for a moment before holding it up to his ear. 

“Who is this?” He demanded. 

“Armitage? What’s happening. Ben says you’re freaking out.” Came the reply of a woman. 

Hux grew angry at the voice. How dare some woman try and pretend she was his mother. 

“My mother’s dead.” Hux growled into the receiver before standing and shucking the comm device across the room, and watching it crack against a wall. 

“My phone! Hux, what the fuck!” 

Hux didn’t care. He was already storming out again. The man may have Kylo’s face, but it can’t be him. He needed to find his way back to the Finalizer. He couldn’t let Datoo get away with this.

A hand was gripping his wrist, preventing him from leaving, and Hux turned to a teary eyed Kylo, looking at him with such a loss. 

“Babe, I’m going to call a hospital. It’s going to be okay.” Kylo breathed, and a large but gentle hand was raking through his hair affectionately. Hux shoved his elbow out and drove it into Kylo’s stomach. He was instantly released, and Hux ran back outside. Rain drenched him again. And he had only gotten a few feet out, before a loud honking made him turn, just in time to see the vehicle approaching. Hux hit the pavement, and he looked up at the sky, rain hitting his face, Kylo was yelling for him distantly, until his vision blacked out. 

Hux woke slowly this time. A low beeping stirred him from unconsciousness. His chest ached, and when he blinked open his eyes, he was greeted by the pale white lights of the Medical Bay. Hux struggled to sit up, but he forced himself to do so, needing to be sure of his surroundings for some reason. The last of his memories didn’t make any sense. 

Hux turned to his side, seeing Kylo again, only there were bandages across half of his face. The one eye that was exposed was open, brown pupil glaring at the ceiling. Hux opened his mouth to say something, but closed it afterward, unsure of what to say. 

Hux stared down at his lap, thinking over the odd dream he just had. He had never experienced something so real before. He could still feel the cold rain against his skin. Kylo’s hand raking through his hair. He closed his eyes and sighed out. It was best to put whatever that was behind him. He had bigger things to worry about. 

It was just a dream.


	2. Tropical Sunset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks you guys for actually liking my fic! Without further ado. Chapter two...

“Colonel Datoo, if you think taking the role of General away from me was going to be this easy, you are sorely mistaken.” Hux announced, walking up to the bridge of the Finalizer, hands behind his back and head held high. A fresh new uniform had been donned, as well as a fresh hat and coat that hung over his shoulders just as he liked it. His face had been washed of any soot, and his hair had been combed into his usual standard. He eyed the General stripes along Datoo’s sleeve with amusement, before returning his gaze to the older man’s steel eyes. “And just who promoted you?” Hux asked, tone condesending. 

 

“No one. Someone needed to assume the role of leadership, and so I stepped up. The Supreme Leader has been silent, abandoning us, just as you have.” Datoo squared his own shoulders, trying not to let their height difference be a weakness in his favor. Hux didn’t see much of a difference. Unfortunately spending so much time around Ren had allowed Hux to develop a ‘looming aura’ that was quite intimidating. “Where have you been these last  _ crucial  _ hours?” Datoo asked with in a growl. 

 

“In the Medical Bay. The brave rescue I had conducted to ensure Lord Ren’s safety had exposed me to some poisonous gasses. I’ve been healing. But I’m healed, so thank you Colonel for watching the bridge in my absence, I’ll be taking back command now.” Hux stepped forward, using his height once more as an advantage to try and force the other out. “Step aside, Colonel.” 

 

There was a standstill, where Hux could feel all eyes of the personnel on the bridge on them. Datoo wasn’t backing down, and Hux kept his own icy glare upon the older man. He was looking for anything written on the man’s face that gave away he would back down. A bead of sweat. A twitch in his face. Anything. Hux was a patient man. He would wait for this man to crack. 

 

“General. The Supreme Leader demands a conference!” 

 

Hux blinked, at the sudden intrusion upon the bridge. A junior officer who looked like she might have ran here, was staring right at Hux waiting for his reply. 

 

The redhead paused for a few more moments before tearing himself away from Datoo’s stare-down with a growl. He just couldn't catch a break, could he?

 

“I expect you to stand aside when I return, Colonel!” Hux barked out as he made his way down to the conference chamber. He was seething by the the time his marched his way into the empty chamber. The image of the Supreme Leader flickered into view, and Hux tried his best not to scowl directly into Snoke’s view. 

 

“Supreme Leader.” Hux greeted flatly. 

 

“General…” Came Snoke’s wheezy and deep reply. “Where is Kylo Ren? I instructed you to bring him to me, and you have not arrived nor do I sense his presence approaching.” 

 

Hux clenched his teeth. “Kylo Ren was not fit for lightspeed. He was bleeding out. Dying, Supreme Leader. I had to bring him aboard the Finalizer first, or he would not have made the trip.” 

 

The large holo projection of Snoke was silent for a few moments, looking pensive, as Hux shifted on his feet, eager to get back to the bridge. He was done with these distractions. He needed to assume order. 

 

“And his status now?” Snoke asked. 

 

Hux wasn’t sure about Kylo’s certain status. He was awake when Hux had woken up, but he didn’t bother to check the Knight’s vitals or how he had progressed in the last day. He assumed that he was on the road to recovery. He was alive, and that seemed to be enough. 

 

“He’s...stable. I should be able to send him along a transport within two day’s time.” Hux replied. 

 

“My instructions were for  _ you  _ to bring him to me.” Snoke growled. 

 

“Supreme Leader. If I may. I can not leave the Finalizer at this time. Colonel Datoo is trying to remove me from my status, and I need to assure that I have command.” Hux insisted. 

 

If he were to leave now, his chances of regaining his status was greatly diminishing. He couldn’t just go off on another mission so soon, especially if it involved Kylo Ren. No one would want him back afterward. If he didn’t have the loyalty of his crew, then he was useless. His last abandonment had been caused by that insufferable man, it can’t happen again. 

 

“Colonel Datoo will step down if he wishes to continue serving the First Order. If he does not, you have my permission to execute him for attempted mutiny.” 

 

Hux tried not to scowl at that answer. If he killed Datoo, after all they had lost already, his crew wouldn’t respond well to that either. There didn’t need to be any more senseless death. The time for that has passed. 

 

“You will bring Kylo to me. This is a sensitive matter, and I don’t trust anyone else to get it done.” Snoke spoke, and even with such high praise, he managed to sound bored. 

 

“...yes, Supreme Leader.” Hux answered behind gritted teeth. The time for arguing has also passed. “We shall set off as soon as he’s capable.” 

 

Snoke flickered out of view and Hux resisted a loud curse just in case the other was still somehow listening in. He stomped out of the chamber and to the Medical Bay to where the awaiting Kylo Ren was. Except Hux was greeted to an empty bed, and crushed medical machinery. 

 

Hux allowed himself to curse loudly this time. He approached one of the medical staff, who looked pale as a sheet. 

 

“Where is he?!” The General demanded to the smaller man. 

 

“H-He left. He d-didn’t say where.” The man replied, but Hux was already half way across the room. The General made his way to Ren’s quarters, but found them empty. He checked in the exercising rooms, the training rooms, they were all lacking a certain Knight.

 

Hux growled, growing even more frustrated, until he got a notification on his comm. Ren was on the bridge. He was demanding that they turn the Finalizer around. 

  
“What?” Hux breathed as he hurried to the bridge. The door slid open, and the first thing he noticed was Datoo in a heap in the corner, purple bruising around his neck, eyes closed. Hux wasn’t sure he was breathing. He looked up to his crew next, whose eyes were all fixed on Kylo as he stood at the command, slumped over in pain, face exposed. 

 

“Ren what is the meaning of this?” Hux implored as he stormed up the the taller man. His crew was looking at him now, probably fearing for his life as well. “Why are you trying to turn the Finalizer around. We can’t enter that atmosphere again without risking damage from the debris of Starkiller.” 

 

“I’ll kill her. I’m going to kill her.” Ren breathed, sounding nearly possessed with the amount of hatred in his voice. 

 

“The scavenger girl?” Hux asked. “Ren you have been unconscious for a day’s cycle. You can barely stand. She’s already gone, and what will you even do if you see her? She beat you once, she’ll do it again with you like this.” A hand squeezed around Hux’s throat, and the General blinked away his annoyance. The dark haired man, eyes rimmed with red, glared down at him in his usual loathing manner, only this time there wasn’t a mask in the way. Hux thought back to the dream Ren’s face, eyes shining with tears and worry. It was hard to believe that his own mind had managed to come up with that image, when all he’s ever seen of Kylo was this. 

 

“I’ll... _ kill  _ her…” Kylo repeated himself, as if he was trying to convince Hux. Perhaps he was trying to convince himself. 

 

“Snoke’s orders were for me to bring you to him. He says it’s time to finish your training.” Hux wheezed through the grip on his throat. And then he felt it give all together, and he sucked in a dignified breath. He cleared his throat, and pulled at his collar with his finger. At least he didn’t end up like Datoo who he was sure was dead at this point. 

 

“Snoke told you this?” Kylo rumbled. 

 

“He did.” Hux answered curtly. 

 

“When?” 

 

“I told him we will leave in two day’s time. I assume the training would be rigorous so I accounted for time for you to heal. You still don’t look good.” Hux glanced down at Kylo’s side wound. He was sure that the darkened spot on his clothing was blood. Had he opened parts of his wound again? 

 

“I can leave  _ now.”  _

 

“You can barely stand.” 

 

“I’m leaving  _ now.”  _ Kylo insisted, face turned in an ugly sneer. 

 

Hux merely shook his head. “No.” He stated firmly. “I assume you want to achieve this goal of killing that girl. Make sure you’re strong enough to not fall apart in your training.” 

 

Kylo faltered. Hux knew he was right. Ren was just as hot headed as always. It seemed getting beat and kicked into the snow wasn’t putting him in his place yet. The Knight suddenly turned and trudged out of the bridge, and as soon as he door slid shut, everyone could hear the angered shouts on the other side. The lights flickered, and the crew looked frightened. Hux nearly scoffed. As if Ren could actually take down this ship with a tantrum. The lights restored, and the screaming faded. 

 

There was a few moments of silence as some of the crew held their breaths, all eyes on the door where Kylo had disappeared behind of. But the Knight didn’t return, and eventually everybody seemed to relax a fraction. 

 

“Get him to the Medical Bay.” Hux grumbled, pointing his chin in the direction of Datoo’s body. A crew member went up to the prone body, and pressed two fingers to the older man’s neck. 

 

“Sir. ...he’s dead…” 

 

“Ah. Skip the Medical Bay then. Just sent him to the morgue.” Hux waved it off, disinterested. It saved him the trouble of having to deal with his insubordination. For once, he was grateful that Kylo had thrown one of his fits. It rid him of his current problem, and it reestablished that Hux was indeed the superior one, by being the only one to stand up to Kylo, live while doing so, and put the Knight in his place. 

 

The rest of the day’s cycle was filled with Hux accounting for all their losses and trying to regroup. Starkiller wasn’t just a loss in a weapon, but crew, and resources. He calculated the amount lost in credits, and lives lost. Most of the troopers from the base hadn’t made it off, and therefore they lost a huge chunk of their army as well. Hux sighed heavily as he went through it all at his desk. 

 

Despite having slept for a full 24 hours of a day’s cycle, Hux felt exhaustion settle in much too early. Perhaps it was the medication he was still on to ensure his full recovery. Perhaps it was the whole ordeal with Starkiller and the evacuation. Now that they weren’t all fleeing for their lives, the loss was starting to settle in his gut. A cold and ugly feeling, that made Hux want to shout and act like Ren. 

 

Instead he stood up, and pressed his thumb to a discrete case beside his desk. He pulled out a bottle of Arkanis brandy and a glass tumbler. His one indulgence. He took a swift gulp of the liquid and grimaced as he felt it go down. He rarely drank alcoholic beverages in his time, liking a clear head as much as possible, so Hux felt the effects much too quickly for his liking. He had only hoped to calm down a bit. But the numbing effect it had was something he craved at the moment and so he continued to drink...and drink. The room was tilting at this point, and Hux put his head down on his desk. He groaned into it, and closed his eyes. He immediately regretted his decisions. He had work to do. Why had he allowed himself to drink this much? 

 

Hux decided to just take a small nap and continue once he woke. Just a short one. Twenty minutes at most… 

  
  


\--

 

Hux blinked open his eyes, to the sound of beeping once more. Why was he always waking to beeping noises now? The room was fuzzy and brightly lit and smelled sterile. When had he returned to the Medical Bay?

 

“Hux?” 

 

Hux turned, hearing his name uttered with such worry and emotion beside him. Kylo was there again. The...other Kylo. The dream Kylo. The General realized he was having another one of those odd dreams again. He was able to feel a dull ache along his abdomen however, that suggested otherwise. It wasn’t a stomach ache. It was like something had rammed into his side.

 

“What happened?” Hux muttered, turning his gaze back down to himself, and lifting the blankets that were covering his body. He could see his torso had been bandaged up, and his skin yellowed around the edges of them. There were no doubt dark bruises behind the bandages. He grimaced and lowered the blanket back down. 

 

“You got hit by car. You’ve been unconscious for two days, babe. I was so worried.” Kylo breathed out beside him, and Hux could see just how concerned and relieved he was that Hux was finally awake. Oh right. They had been married in that dream hadn’t they? Why was he even dreaming of this anyways? 

 

Hux suddenly remembered that vehicle hitting him, and hummed softly. The dream seemed to be picking up right where it left off. That’s the first time he’s ever had that happen. Weird. It also felt as real as the last one. Perhaps he shouldn’t have drank that alcohol while he was on medication.

 

A large hand was caressing the side of his face, and Hux turned to Kylo, feeling a little uncomfortable by the gesture. Just earlier he had been choked by the same hand. 

 

“Gonna go get the doctor okay?” Kylo said, and Hux could only nod in response. What else was he supposed to do, but just experience the dream. The so called doctor came in and started running a few simple tests on him. A light was shone in his eyes. His bandages were checked. 

 

“Are you feeling nauseous?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Do you feel dizzy?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Your husband said that you were acting oddly before you got hit. Do you remember it?” 

 

Hux paused at the question the doctor asked. First of all, it was weird for Kylo to be referred to as his husband. Second of all, of course he remembered it. But both the Doctor and Kylo were looking to him like he was a fragile piece of glass. Clearly any sane person should not have been having those thoughts. Hux was beginning to realize that this dream world was unlike the real world. He wasn’t in a war. There was no Finalizer here. Just living planet side with Kylo it seemed. 

 

“I do. But...my head’s clear now. I don’t know what happened.” Hux lied and seeing Kylo’s fraction of relief told him that he had said the right thing. Hux felt Kylo’s hand envelop his own, until long fingers intertwined with his. 

 

“Your scans from earlier only show that you had a concussion. There was nothing else that would have caused an episode like that. Perhaps it was just stress but we don’t know yet. We’re going to refer you to a psychiatrist so you can work this out so that it doesn’t happen again. Other than that, you suffered no broken bones. The car slowed enough so that you survived with minimal damage. You should be ready to check out by tonight.” The doctor strode out of the room, leaving Hux with the dream Kylo. 

 

Hux sighed out, grimacing a bit at the ache in his torso. Soft plush (if not a little grossly wet) lips were suddenly on his own, and Hux’s eyes widened in shock. They were gone before he could even react, but they were now peppering all over his face. Kylo was kissing him everywhere. 

 

“Kylo. Kylo stop. That’s disgusting. What do you think you’re doing” Hux muttered, pushing the man away by his chest. The taller man only chuckled, and sat back in his chair looking completely elated. 

 

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Kylo replied with a crooked grin that Hux had never seen. Real Ren never smiled. Hux noticed the slight misalignment of his teeth and chin. All odd features that came together on the man’s face that made it so…  _ Kylo _ . “Also, why are you calling me Kylo, babe?”

 

Hux wanted to ask why Kylo kept calling him babe, but refrained. They were married. He knew why. “I...thought you wanted me to call you that. If you don’t want that I’ll call you… Ben?” He asked, remembering that his dream mother had referred to Kylo as Ben on the phone, hadn't she? 

 

Kylo gave him a slightly worried look. “You sure you’re okay?” 

 

Hux forced himself to laugh and shrugged. “I’m just joking, Ben.” He lied. Kylo hesitantly smiled again. He was then leaning back over Hux and placing sloppy kisses everywhere to his face again, which Hux suffered through with a silent groan. _Why_ was he dreaming this? 

 

“Oh here.” Kylo reached into his pocket for a small case and took a pair of glasses from them. “Good thing you weren’t wearing them when it happened. They probably would have broken.” 

Hux was handed the glasses and he frowned at them. Only underdeveloped planets still used these. 

 

“Though, maybe if you were actually wearing them, you would have seen the car.” Kylo mumbled, and Hux placed them on his face. The room was instantly more clear, and he blinked as things came into focus. He had blamed the slight fuzziness of his vision on the dream-like surroundings, but now it was all too clear. It made him feel uneasy. 

 

“I already called the school. Told them what happened. You don’t have to go back till Monday.” Ben told Hux. Hux wondered what school he was talking about, but found that if he thought on it enough, some sort of memory flashed in his head. Hux blinked in confusion as he pulled at the thought.  _ Job. Father’s school. Principal. Family.  _

 

His father had founded the school. It was a private school, that Hux now was principal of.  _ Arkanis Academy.  _ Hux flinched just slightly as that thought came into mind. That’s what the school was called. But it wasn't like the officers academy. Just a normal private school that taught math, science, arts... 

 

“T-Thank you…” Hux muttered, hand coming up to rub his head, wondering why he was able to remember that. Those weren’t his memories. 

 

“And Millicent is also okay. I went back home while you were out to run some errands, and to make sure she had food and water. She’s doing fine, but I think she misses you, Armitage.” Ben said, before standing and moving his large body so that he was trying to lay on the bed next to Hux. 

 

Hux frowned slightly, leaning away from Ben, knowing the other man shouldn’t be doing that. Besides, he was also just too big for the bed with Hux already in it. 

  
“Ben...Ben...no…” Hux muttered, as he scooted to the side, but Ben seem to insist until he was pressed closely against Hux, fortunately still being careful of the red head’s bruised body. Hux sighed out in annoyance and allowed the other to lay beside him. They remained lying like that for a few moments, Hux wishing he would wake up already, before Ben spoke again. 

 

“You really had me worried there…” The man whispered, and Hux was able to hear just how much he meant that. It was odd to hear someone so concerned for his well being. Since he was a child, even his own father hadn’t cared much to how he was doing. The only thing he had cared about was whether he was doing good in the Academy or not. Even when he had been injured on campus in a training accident, he didn’t receive a visit from his father. The scar of the blaster still marred his upper back.  It was such a wonder to him that someone would feel this way for him, that Hux blurted out his next word as just a simple,

 

“...Why?” 

 

Ben leaned forward just a bit so he could give Hux a look that read, ‘What do you mean why?’. “Because I love you?” He stated hoping it was the most obvious answer in the world. 

 

Even with the marriage, and the love implied, Hux’s heart stilled at the words. He didn’t like sounding like a sob story, but those words had never been uttered to him before. Especially not with such conviction. But in Kylo’s voice, it was both unbelievable and a little amusing. Dreams sure were weird.

 

Hux huffed out a soft laugh. “This is so odd…” He mumbled, as he allowed himself to relax a little into the bed. 

 

“What’s so odd?” Ben replied, tone light, as he leaned over as he started kissing at Hux’s cheek again. “Even after five years of marriage and you don’t believe anyone loves you?” 

 

Hux wondered if he was just as unloved here with the exception of Ben. That made about the most sense of this place so far. 

 

“Why are you so affectionate?” Hux asked, just as amused. This Kylo seemed so clingy, which sort of made sense, since he supposed. Real Kylo was very emotional. If figures that he would be emotional on all ends of the spectrum. 

 

“Because I thought you might have died for a second, but you’re here, and alive, and you smell kinda weird like hospital, but you’re still you.” Came Ben’s reply, close to Hux’s ear. “Oh! Hey, check it out. I got a new phone too since you killed my last one.” Kylo shifted besides Hux as he reached into his pocket and took out another one of those comms. He held it up with his long arms and pressed on the surface until Hux could see his own face on it. 

 

“Oh it’s a camera too.” Hux muttered under his breath. 

 

“Well yeah. They all come like that now.” Kylo replied, as he angled it until they were both featured in the view of the lense. Now that he was able to see himself, Hux looked at his own features. He looked just about the same as he did outside of his dreams. Pale skin. Same shade of hair, it was just messier. Sunken cheekbones. But a few subtle things were different. Such as the bags under his eyes were gone, and there was something about his face that just told him that he was healthier. Perhaps his skin was pale, but colored a more healthier shade. 

 

The camera made a shutter noise, and Kylo pulled his arms in to examine the picture. Hux reached out and took the phone, turning it over in his hand. It wasn’t unlike a comm device or his data pad. He clicked on the button and watched the screen fade into something else, before finding the camera again, and the picture they took. 

 

Hux hadn’t been posing or smiling, so he ended up just slightly squinting in the picture. But Ben was smiling softly, relaxed with a happy expression that Hux wasn’t used to seeing. Hux immediately decided that he liked this Kylo much better than the one who had choked him earlier. 

 

“Armitage, why the hell are you making that face? I wanted to make this my wallpaper.” Ben laughed as he loaded up the camera again, and angled it once more. “Smile. Come on. You just cheated death. That’s only something you would do and should smile about.” 

 

Hux couldn’t help the small grin at that thought, and the shutter noise went off. 

 

“Better. You still look a little out of it, but I’ll excuse it because you’re hurt.” Ben said, as he set the picture to his wallpaper with a satisfied expression. 

 

There was a knock at the door and a nurse came in with a tray of food. “I hear you’re finally awake.” She spoke with a friendly smile. Ben returned the smile. “Hey you’re not supposed to be there.” She scolded lightly, noticing that Ben was in Hux’s bed. But Hux was supposed to leave by that night. He doubted Ben’s presence as too problematic. She pulled out the bed’s tray and placed the food tray on top of it. 

 

Hux glanced down at the food and felt his stomach rumble at the smell, which struck him as odd, considering this was all a dream. 

 

“Hey where’s mine?” Hux heard Kylo ask the nurse with a cheeky grin. 

 

“You can go downstairs to the cafeteria and get yourself something.” She replied to him making Kylo pout. She left after asking if they needed anything, but Hux shook his head. He took the spoon and scooped it into the soup that was in the center of the tray. It was a little bland, but so was everything he normally ate on the Finalizer. 

 

“Hey give me some.” Ben said, nudging Hux with his shoulder, and nearly making him spill his soup. Hux frowned and threw his elbow up to block Ben. 

 

“You heard the woman. There’s a cafeteria downstairs.” Hux scooped a few more spoonfuls into his mouth and started on the little salad that was on the corner of his tray. The taste was a little odd. He’s never had the kind of dressing on it, but it wasn’t terrible. 

 

Ben’s hand reached out to take a breaded crouton from his salad and Hux stabbed the hand with his plastic fork. 

 

“Ow! What the fuck.” Kylo blurted, retracting his hand and holding it to his chest, fixing Hux with a look of disbelief. 

 

“Cafeteria. Downstairs.” Hux repeated, as he scooped more lettuce into his mouth. 

 

Ben scoffed out and got out of the bed. “You want anything while I’m down there?” He asked, though Hux could tell the man was a little annoyed with him now. 

 

Hux shook his head, not bothering to look up at Ben as he continued eating his food. There was a little bowl of a translucent squares that tasted of fruit that he had just discovered on the side of his tray. 

 

“Mm. No actually, Ben. Find me more of this.” Hux said, pointing to his gelatine bowl, and continuing to eat. The bowl of square fruit treat was probably the best part of the dream so far. Which reminded him. He really needed to wake up soon. 

 

Once Ben left the room, Hux pinched his arm, hoping it would allow him to wake from his dream. When it didn’t work, he huffed out an annoyed breath. He pulled back his blankets and pressed his palm flat against the bruise, and yelped out in shock when the pain came flaring out, much stronger and much more real than he had anticipated. 

 

There were hurried footsteps outside his room and Ben’s face poked back in. “What happened? I heard you shout.” 

 

Hux turned to the man, eyes a little wide in shock and panic. No. This couldn't be real. It was just a dream. He blinked a few times and shook his head. “N-Nothing. I just moved too quickly is all.” He muttered, eyes casting down to his torso. If that hadn’t woken him up, Hux wasn’t sure he could do anything that would. Perhaps he was just that tired. 

 

Ben left after a moment of hesitation. 

 

Hux looked down at his body again, and then at his food. He grabbed at the small container containing some kind of juice and drank from it. He could clearly taste the tanginess of the orange drink. He could smell the broth of the soup. How was all of this so real? 

 

He shook his head. No. It wasn’t real. It all just had to be a dream. What else could it be? He had woken up last time from it. It was possible to wake up, so it wasn’t real. 

 

The ginger haired man ran a hand down his face and took in a deep breath. He could still feel the aching pain in his torso when he breathed in too deep. 

  
  


By the time they had released him from the hospital, Hux had grown silent. Ben was growing a little worried again, but Hux had explained that he was just tired, and Ben nodded in understandment. He had changed into the odd clothing Ben had brought for him, and Ben wheeled him down the halls in a wheelchair, making zooming noises and getting much too close to the other people walking by.

 

They returned back to that house Hux had woken in, in the last dream, after Kylo had driven them home in one of those wheeled vehicles. It was comfy enough. Much like a speeder. Just different again. All the technology seemed to match what he was used to, they were all just built differently. 

 

Hux carefully stepped back into the house, glancing around in each direction as he really took in the house this time. It was the same as last time, but he took in the detail of the warm colors of the walls, the large screen device that was planted on the wall, more pictures that hung on walls and were set on flat surfaces. 

 

A cat came trotting up to him and started winding itself around his legs. Hux glanced down at the small beast in amusement. He had always wanted a cat. It only fit that his dream self had somehow acquired one. 

 

“Hey there little one.” Hux breathed, and he reached down to pet her, and scratch behind her ears.

 

“Aw she missed you.” Ben said, closing the door behind them, before gently reaching for Hux’s hand and leading him through the house. Ben lead him to their bedroom, keeping a slow pace not to overexert Hux’s wounds. They came up to their bed, and Ben reached under pulling out a large black case. The latches were unhinged and the darker haired man pulled out a stringed instrument. He smirked at Hux, and the General just replied with an amused expression. 

 

“Alright. Alright. While you were knocked out, I wrote up some lyrics in my head for you.” Ben announced as he lifted a foot up on top of their bed, and balanced the instrument on his knee. Hux frowned that Ben’s shoe was on the bed, but let it slide. It was just a dream. 

 

Ben strummed along the strings and the chord echoed in the room, and Hux crossed his arms, looking to the other man expectantly. Now this is something he had to see. He never took Kylo as the musical type. 

 

“I call this… um… The Love of My Life Isn’t Dead and I’m So Fucking Happy...” Ben mumbled as he tuned the strings. 

 

“That’s too long of a name.” Hux protested but Ben shushed him. The red haired man bristled at that. No one shushed him. 

 

“I woke up; it was raining.   
Tired from days of training.    
And that’s when I saw that you weren’t well.  
My love for you,   
Couldn’t make it through  
Then the car hit, and all I did was yell. 

For days I waited, by your side  
I’ll even admit, I sort of cried.” 

 

Ben smirked toward Hux, and the General rolled his eyes, still somewhat amused. Ben had a nice voice, even if the lyrics of his song weren't so good. But his voice was deep and full. Pleasant to his ears. Hux wondered if real Kylo could actually sing that way. 

 

“But who in their right mind wouldn’t have   
If they thought that Armitage Hux had died.  
I just wish you would wake up already  
My emotions have been too unsteady.   
If you wake up now, I’ll kiss you more  
So much kissing, you’ll find it a chore.”

 

Hux breathed out a soft laugh. That had been true. 

 

“I’ll welcome you home, and call you baby.   
Then you’d probably pout at me...maybe.  
But I still love you anyways my Hux.   
You still make me feel like a million bucks.

The love of my life isn't dead, and I’m so fucking happy.  
It’s making me weep, and smile, and act so damn sappy.

But here you are, across from me, my lovely buttercup   
Probably waiting for me to just fucking shut up...”    
  


Ben let the last chord strum out for a few moments until it was silent. He turned up to Hux expectantly. 

“It’s stupid I know. You know I was never good at writing.” Ben muttered, and that’s when Hux finally noticed the other man was a little embarrassed. Hux also realized that he was perhaps a little too silent for too long. 

 

“Oh. No, it was great.” Hux replied with a smile. He didn't know why he was trying to spare Ben’s feelings, but it was nice. He was just not used to Kylo acting a certain way. Screaming, fighting, destroying. That’s the Kylo he knew. Not this affectionate music player. 

 

Ben returned the guitar back into his case, and replaced it back under the bed. His large hands then reached out and carefully placed them along Hux’s narrow hips. 

 

“So. I was thinking, since the doctor said you should take it easy, we could watch a movie together on the couch, order some pizza, then we can take a shower and head to bed.” Ben proposed with a grin. 

 

“..we?” Hux asked, backing out of the other’s grip. It was just a dream, but Hux had no desire to shower with even dream Kylo. 

 

“I know you’re hurt. I’m not gonna ask you to do anything.” Ben chuckled, caressing his hands over where Hux’s bandages were hidden beneath his shirt. “Can’t have any of us slipping and ending up back in the hospital. Someone’s going to think that I’m trying to kill you on purpose.” 

 

Hux paused, again remembering Kylo’s hands squeezing down on his throat earlier. 

 

“I’d rather shower alone if I had to.” Hux replied honestly. 

 

Ben nodded, and placed an innocent kiss on top of Hux’s head. “Alright. No problem. I’ll order the pizza and you can start looking for a movie.” 

 

Ben left the room, and Hux wasn’t sure where to look for these movies. He glanced around the room, before shuffling out awkwardly. He made it back into the living room, and analyzed the area, unsure of where to start. All he knew was that they were going to watch this so called movie on the couch. Was it like a holovid? 

 

He stepped up to the large screen on the wall, and pressed at the buttons until one made it glow to life. A loud static noise suddenly filled the room, and made Hux bring his hands up to his ears in annoyance. What was the point of this device? 

 

“Turn the cable on already, I can’t hear the pizza people!” Ben shouted from across the room, where he was talking on the phone.

 

Hux fumbled around, pressing on other things until the static on the screen turned to a man speaking at some desk. 

 

“Oh there we go.” Hux pressed on more buttons as he saw the channels change. He looked at all of the channels he passed through with great interest, noticing the clothing, the hairstyles, the scenery. There was a lack of anything beside humans. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen any aliens at the hospital. Were there any on this planet?

 

“So, what are we watching?” Ben asked from behind him as he plopped down on the couch. 

 

“Oh. ...I don’t know. Why don’t you just decide?” Hux offered as he stepped away from the screen and sat on the couch, at the other end from Ben. 

 

“Fine.” Ben took the remote and started pressing buttons, and Hux watched with interest at the culture this planet had being displayed on the screen. 

 

“Oh here. Awesome. Nightmare on Elm Street. Perfect for October.” Ben grinned. “And it just started!” He announced, before scooting over and placing an arm around Hux’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything get to you, babe. I’ll protect you.” He stated seriously. 

 

Hux rose an eyebrow at this, but Ben just burst into chuckles. 

 

“I know. I know. You want me to shut up.” Ben settled besides Hux and focused his attention on the screen. Hux followed his actions, and turned to the screen as well. The quality was bad compared to the holovids he was used to, but it was still visible and understandable. It didn’t take long for Hux to realize that this was some kind of scary story. Hux never watched scary holovids before. He was restricted to documentaries of war mainly. 

 

He was getting so immersed in the story, that when a loud chiming noise suddenly filled the room, Hux jumped a little. Ben laughed at him, and stood up. 

 

“It’s just the pizza guy, Hux.” Hux frowned deeply, feeling stupid for having gotten scared. He was a man of war. He wasn’t going to let this silly story make him scared. Hux crossed his arms, and turned to see Ben talking to someone at the door. Ben brought back a large cardboard square which he placed on the caf table before them. The darker haired man open the box, revealing a large round gooey looking thing. 

 

Ew. 

 

Ben took a piece and took a large bite off the tip. The man gasped out. “Oh fuck it’s hot. Careful.” He warned as he swallowed down his piece and stood up. “You want a soda?” He asked. 

 

Hux reached forward to grab a piece like Ben had carefully, “Um. Sure.” He replied, unsure what it was that he was being offered. He took a cautious bite of the gooey bread. 

 

“Mm…” Hux took another bite, getting some of the topping into his mouth. This was a lot better than the hospital food or anything he’s had on the Finalizer. He finished the whole piece before Ben even returned with an aluminum can with the word, ‘Coke’ printed on it.

 

“Jesus, you were hungry.” Ben breathed, as he sat and opened his can of Coke and started drinking. Hux repeated the action, and took a sip. 

 

Oh it’s carbonated. The ginger haired man took another piece of the circle bread, which he remembered Ben calling ‘pizza’ earlier. 

 

They continued watching the movie, Hux filling up on more pieces of pizza, and Ben gravitating close until they were cuddling. Hux allowed it, feeling content with a full stomach, and the warmth that Ben was radiating was combating the cold that was settling in the house. The lights were dim, and Hux found himself getting too immersed in the story again. By the time it was over, he was a bit paranoid, but he would never admit that. He was General of an army damn it. 

 

“You still wanna take a shower? The doctor said it was okay to take off the bandages.” Ben offered, and Hux nodded. He felt kind of grimy. 

 

Hux retreated, and realized he didn’t know where his things were, or where the refresher even was. It’d be too weird to ask. He went to a dresser back in the bedroom and opened up a few drawers until he saw some sleepwear. He pulled out a few pieces of clothing, looking them over. 

 

“Gonna wear my things, babe?” Ben asked as he passed by. 

 

“...yes.” Hux muttered, figuring he might as well. He had no idea which were his own. He rushed out of the room, and back into that hall with those pictures. With his glasses on he was able to see them more in detail this time. There were still just as disturbing. 

 

Hux walked down the hallway, peeking into the rooms as he passed by until he found the refresher. He closed the door behind himself, and locked it, before sighing. He deposited his sleepwear on the sink counter before turning on the shower. It seemed to be a normal water one instead of a sonic, but he supposed it would do. He didn't know why he was bothering to even take a shower in a dream, but he supposed he’d just go along with it. That's just what you do in dreams.

Hux stripped out of the clothing and folded them neatly before placing them along with the fresh pair of pajamas. He placed his glasses there as well. He then started unwinding the bandages from around his torso, revealing the freshly bruised skin. Looking into the mirror, he noticed that he wasn’t quite as thin as he was in the real world. He wasn’t drastically thicker. Hux just noticed that his rib cage wasn’t as prominent, and there was just a slight bulge to his stomach that he wasn’t used to. He prodded at it awkwardly before shrugging it off. He turned and glanced over his shoulder, noticing that he lacked the scar across his upper back from his youth. 

 

The water of the shower was pleasantly warm, and the pressure was better than the few showers on the Finalizer. He pushed his hair back, and let the water run over his face. Again he was shocked at how real it all felt. He moved away from the spray and blinked water from his eyes. 

 

Hux opened the cap to a body wash, and sniffed into it, smelling the strong scent of some fruit. He checked the label. 

 

“Tropical Sunset.” How was something supposed to smell like a tropical sunset? The Finalizer didn’t have such absurd smelling body washes. They just had standard unscented soap, and shampoos. Either way, Hux poured a generous amount to a washcloth and scrubbed his body, and gently wiped over his bruises. The shampoo for his hair was also a similar scent, and Hux left the steaming shower smelling of tropical fruit. 

 

The General changed into his pajamas, and realized that they were a tad to big. They really were Ben’s clothing weren’t they? He found a brush and combed his hair the way he liked, it, parting it at the right angles, and pushing it back.

 

In the bedroom, Kylo was already in bed, looking at his phone. Hux hesitated before slipping in next to him. 

 

“Goodnight, babe. Glad you’re okay.” Ben sighed out, as he leaned over to place a kiss on Hux’s temple. He turned off the light, making the room completely dark. Hux curled up on his side, wondering if he’d be able to fall asleep in a dream. Thoughts of the movie they had watched earlier came back to him, and suddenly he was very reluctant to fall asleep. 

 

What if something like that could happen here? What if his dream turned into a nightmare. That sounded highly unpleasant. 

 

A warm body pressed close behind his, and Hux stiffened for a moment. 

 

“Did I hurt you?”

 

Hux sighed out, “No.” He answered, and relaxed. He did feel safer with Ben close like this. Hux closed his eyes and felt unconsciousness take him. 

  
\-- 

 

Hux woke with a start. The pain in his back and neck were the things to really rouse his consciousness into awareness. He groaned softly and sat up, realizing that he was sleeping over his desk. His cheek had stuck to the dark wood and he rubbed at it before yawning. 

 

He checked the time and realized he slept much longer than the twenty minutes he had promised himself earlier. “Kriff…” He sighed as another yawn ripped through him. 

 

Hus brought out his datapad but realized quickly that he was too tired to continue. 

 

A walk. He just needed a quick walk around the ship. Grab some caf and then head back here to finish. Good plan. 

 

Hux scooted his chair back and stood. He stretched out his aching muscles and pushed his hair back before emerging from his quarters. Th lights around some of the areas were set to dim to simulate that it was the middle of the night cycle, but they just fed into his exhaustion. 

 

Hux passed the transparasteel viewport that looked out into their current orbit and paused. He took just a moment to look out into the stars, trying to remember what they were all fighting for. Peace. Order. They’ll achieve it. Even with this setback. He pressed a gloved hand up to the transparaseteel, eyes gazing forward. It was all at his fingertips. 

 

Hux continued his walk, already heading down toward the nearest Mess Hall when he passed by the docking bay and noticed something odd. It was nearly empty which wasn't the odd part; it usually was empty around this cycle. But there was one ship currently trying to take off unauthorized. 

 

“Hey!” Hux growled, remembering Poe Dameron and FN-2187’s escape. There would not be a repeat of that. He brought out his blaster and ran down the steps that lead to the hanger bay, wondering where all his crew was. Why weren’t they guarding the area? 

 

Hux grew closer and that’s when he noticed Kylo rounding the corner and opening the ship’s ramp. The General slowed his steps, realizing it wasn’t a new traitor or anything of the sort, but that still didn’t explain Kylo’s actions. 

 

“You’re not meant to leave yet!” Hux barked as he halted by the entrance ramp across from Kylo. 

 

Kylo made a resigned expression at the order. “Step aside, General.” He stated calmly. 

 

Hux wasn’t in his way before, but now he was. He shuffled his feet so that he was now blocking Kylo’s entrance to the ship. “Snoke ordered that I escort you to him, personally.” 

 

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

 

“No, you don't. But that was the order.” Hux snapped. He didn’t need Kylo’s ambitions getting him in trouble. Snoke had specific orders, and if they were disobeyed, he would no doubt be punished. 

 

“You can’t stop me.” Kylo closed the distance between himself and Hux. The General didn’t back down. He glared up at the taller man, and with Kylo’s sneer, he was able to notice that his teeth were crooked in the exact way that his dream version had them. “...why do you smell like that?”

 

Hux paused, not quite registering the question. “What?” The General blinked. “Smell like _what_?” 

 

“...like fruit?” Kylo’s face scrunched in confusion, as he leaned an inch closer, to which Hux pushed the man away. 

 

“Stop smelling me!” Hux ordered, and Kylo leaned away with a frown. 

 

“Whatever. Just move.” 

 

“No.” Hux held his place firmly. 

 

Kylo sighed out shortly before lifting a hand up, and Hux felt his body sliding across the floor until he was well out of the Knight’s way. 

“Kylo don’t you dare!” Hux snapped, but the Knight was already boarding his shuttle, and Hux couldn’t get his body to move. He pressed forward with all his might, and then all at once the hold on his body was released, and Hux fell forward. His hands reached out to brace his fall, but he scowled in embarrassment. He looked up and saw Kylo turn around for a fraction of a second. The man smiled. It was out of amusement for causing Hux the humiliation of falling on his face, but it was the same smile as the dream Kylo. 

 

Hux felt all anger bubble back down at the sight. He blinked, and stood back up. The ramp was closing up, and Hux watched Kylo’s turned back. 

  
“Good luck, Kylo.” Hux spoke, which made Kylo turn around in confusion, right as the ramp closed. Hux watched as the ship took off until he was the only one left on the hanger bay. He reached toward his collar, pulled back, and ducked his head down. He took a few careful sniffs. 

 

"...Tropical Sunset..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just fyi, Kylo isn't a musician as a career. It's just a hobby. Also I was just hoping to write a really domestic chapter to get things going. Hope it wasn't boring. More things will happen soon.


	3. Thermal Detonators

A very quick summary to jog your memory hopefully, since it’s been a while, I know. Sorry. :B Or you could just reread the first two chapters. Whatever you like.

[So far: Hux finds himself in the medical bay due to health problems caused from being on Starkiller before it blew. He ends up having a weird dream of another life where he lives on a planet called Earth, where he’s married to someone who appears to be a version of Kylo Ren. They’re weird dreams, but he goes about his work. Hux tries to retake command of the Finalizer which is growing unruly after their big loss, and works himself to a well deserved nap, where he falls into one of those odd dreams again. However, this time as he wakes up, something lingers. The scent of a soap he used in the dream…]

 

Also I switched the tense, I hope that isn't a problem.

 

\--

 

Months pass, and Hux stops having the vivid dreams of his home with Kylo Ren. He falls back into his usual lack of sleep and his usual dreams, which consisted of his Academy days, and boring dreams of himself running the ship.

 

Kylo was off training, and Hux concentrates on rebounding from Starkiller’s loss. They had taken in more than the usual amount of Arkanis cadets from the academy to start making up for the officers they had lost, and many others ended up getting promoted to higher ranks. There were a lot more mistakes that ended up happening with such fresh recruits running many things, which put Hux into a week of spirling anxiety and stress, until things started coming back together.

 

They also added in a new line of troopers a year younger than they normally did, but they proved to be exceptional. They had only allowed the elite to come in early, which Hux saw motivated them to prove their worth.

 

And with the trooper program, Hux had to make a few adjustments and changes so another FN-2187 incident never occurred again, including a thermal detonator chip implanted into every troopers bodies, so if one ever went rogue again, they’d be able to take care of that problem with a press of a button.

 

In the following the months, the Resistance had been quiet, having lost their support from the New Republic with it being space dust and all, which Hux took as a victory. Overall the Resistance had lost much more than the First Order had, and that was the only thing that Hux kept telling himself to get through the day. The main down part now that he had to worry about is that the Resistance is having time to regroup just as they were, since he hadn’t been able to attack them one last time before Starkiller blew. He could have ended it all on that day.

 

The thought haunts him every day.

  
But his thoughts were mainly occupied with figuring out what to do to compensate for their loss of Starkiller. They needed a new weapon. One that was much more stable, and would match it in greatness. Snoke hadn’t been too happy when Kylo had arrived for his training alone, but Hux had explained everything, pinning the blame on the rash Knight’s actions. Snoke wasn’t impressed, but how was Hux supposed to have stopped Kylo?

 

Hux stares down at his blueprints. They had been making things too _big_. Perhaps building the next things bigger and then even more bigger wasn’t always the solution. All it did was leave more vulnerable spots, no matter how much they tried to cover them up. Hux had been studying large technological terrors since he was a boy but perhaps it was time for some innovative thinking.

 

They needed something that wouldn’t be a repeat of the Death Star, the second Death Star, and then Starkiller. Three times was enough.

 

Hux deletes the file of the new blueprints he had been working on and starts on something new. He needs to think small. Discrete. Unable to combat, but still able to cause devastation that demanded power and respect.

Hux’s new efforts for his new top secret weapon which he was now calling, “Breath Taker”, had earned him high remarks from Snoke once he presented his rough drafts, and Snoke had greenlit the project. It required a new team of engineers and researchers that reverted Hux back to the sleepless mess that Starkiller once made him when that was still in it’s early plans.

 

\--

 

The shuttle touches down on the forest terrain of Dorvalla. Hux and his team exit the shuttle, with their trackers and troopers at their side. It was a routine resource grab that Hux needed to oversee as the head of the new project. He couldn’t have them returning with the wrong things. And he needed to test a sample before deciding to mine the planet. The officers pile into a speeder built for multiple passengers while troopers flank them with single passenger speeders. Hux holds his tracking device up, and points in the direction that it was telling him to go.

 

The wind rushes by his face, and Hux keeps his eyes focused and determined on his tracker. It had been a while since he’s been planetside. He tries to remember the last trip he had, but all he could think of was his time on Earth, which he shakes his head to. That didn’t exist.

 

The location of the ores they need took them three hours to track down, and when they did, it took another few hours to test the ores in the area to see if they’d be compatible for _Breath Taker_. When the data samples finally test positive, he feels his pride and determination surge. One step closer to completing his new project.

 

“Assign a mining crew here. We are looking for this.” Hux holds up the positive results. “Mine as much as this planet has to give. I want it all.” He growls before stomping out of the cave they had ventured into and out to the speeder. Half of his crew follow him out, while the rest stay to get preparations started.

 

Hux pauses. There’s a low beeping noise that’s all too familiar, echoing softly in the cave. _Thermal Detonator_.

 

“Get down!” Hux barks before the explosion goes off. He feels himself thrown into the air, and lands on the forest floor, cheek rubbing against the grass and dirt. His ears are ringing and then all too suddenly there’s another explosion in the distance, and a loud crumbling noise. The General forces himself up onto his knees just in time to see the entrance of the cave collapsing in, trapping half of his party. He turns his gaze to the speeder they arrived in which is on fire, half of it blown away. No escaping on that now.

 

Hux groans and holds a hand to his head as he stands up, reaching for his blaster. He retreats behind a tree, unable to see the enemy yet. He can hear the break out of blaster fire from his troopers, and glances around the tree to see. A twig snapping beside him has him turning quickly back in the direction. He aims and shoots quickly, blasting the man between the eyes.

Hux retreats from his spot, ducking his head as another explosion goes off by him. His heart is hammering against his chest as he finds a large boulder to take shelter behind. He leans over and blasts another two enemies, and ducks back down. He couldn’t tell who they were. Certainly not Resistance by the look of their uniforms. But from the reports he had on the planet, the original mining facilities had been abandoned during the time of the Empires fall, and had since been abandoned.

 

The blaster fire slows until it ceased altogether. Hux curses under his breath and turns to look over his boulder once more and finds his troopers and officers dead along the floor. The noise of a blaster cocks by his ear, and Hux closes his eyes for a moment, realizing he had allowed himself to be discovered. He turns slowly to face the group of enemies, all pointing blasters at his face.

 

“Drop it.” One demands, indicating to Hux’s own weapon.

 

Hux keeps his blaster firmly in his hand, glaring at the group.

 

“I said, drop it!”

 

Hux fires, killing the man next to the one demanding things of him. The butt of a blaster shoves against his face, before he’s roughly tugged forward by the front of his uniform. Someone kicks his hand against the boulder until his grip on his blaster gives, and he is sure that a couple of his fingers break. He feels the cold press of a blaster against his temple, and he breathes out steadily. _This is it then._

 

Hux glares up, refusing to close his eyes or go out like a coward, begging and crying. He feels his heart beating hard against his chest, and the unnerving swirl of anticipation in his gut, but death doesn't come for him. The crackling of a saber breaks the silence instead, and Hux finds himself staring up at a man who suddenly has no head. The remains of the body fall to the floor, releasing the grip on Hux’s uniform. The General breathes out in shock, and watches as the rest of the group are slaughtered by the same crackling saber, held by none other than Kylo Ren.

 

The man has a new helmet on his head. A similar but somehow more eerie than his last. They make eye contact for only a moment before Kylo goes off to most likely kill the rest. Six more shadow-like figures follow, which Hux knows to be the Knights of Ren. The General lets out a short breath and lets himself lean against the boulder, bringing up his hand and removing his glove. His fingers are already bruising from the broken bones beneath.

 

Hux stands back up, and walks over to where the battle rages on. But with one last crackle of Kylo’s lightsaber, the grounds grow silent.

 

“My team is still in there.” Hux announces, pointing to the cave entrance where the explosion from earlier had collapsed it over. He glances around at the rest of the faceless Knights, not liking the way they move like they were made of smoke and mist.

 

Kylo stands at the mouth of cave, helmet bent down, for a few moments in silence. And then the large chunks of land and rocks that are blocking the entryway, start to shift slightly. Hux’s eyebrows raise slightly, at the impressive amount of strength that went into Kylo’s actions. And then all at once, the rocks explode in every direction, landing behind them, but not hitting a single one of the Knights, or Hux for that matter. It didn’t stop the General from ducking as he saw a boulder hurdling his way.

 

Hux straightens back up with a growl. He watches as the Officers and troopers who had been trapped, exit the cave, all seemingly unharmed. Well at least he didn’t have to form a new team for his project.

 

“Who sent you?” Hux asks, approaching Kylo and cradling his broken fingers.

 

“Who do you think?” Kylo responds, voice crackling through the helmet, but the voice modifier makes his voice sound even deeper than the last. Hux wants to roll his eyes at the obvious intimidation technique.

 

“Snoke knew we were going to be attacked?” Hux asks. “If he knew, why did he not say anything? He allowed this expedition to happen.”

 

“I foresaw the attack. I saw your death.” Kylo states.

 

The General blinks, scrunching up his eyebrows in a frown. “And….what? You cared enough about me to save me?”

 

“I reported the vision to The Supreme Leader, and he wants you to complete your new project. I’m here on orders. And I owed you…” Kylo trails off. “Consider this recompense for Starkiller.” He adds before brushing past Hux roughly.

 

“And what now? Are you done with your training? Should I expect your arrival back soon on the Finalizer?” Hux asks curiously, turning around to scowl at Kylo’s back. He wasn’t looking forward to his co-commander to return, but he did like being informed on such matters.The Knight pauses in his steps.

 

“I have one more task to complete. If I complete it, then Snoke told me that my training would be finished for now. Then yes. I believe I’m returning.”

 

Hux nods. It’d be unfortunate to have the man return to his ship and start his usual wreckage and arguments. But he hopes that completing the training might mature the man. He’s relying on it.

 

“I’d like to be informed of your arrival.”

 

\--

 

Kylo does not show up on the Finalizer for weeks after. The mining starts, and the group of smugglers that Hux found to be the culprits for their attack, had been hunted down and taken care of. His fingers also heal rather nicely and quickly with the help of their bacta treatments.

 

Everything was going according to plan without so much as a delay. The only thing to change were the dreams. Not the weird vivid dreams he had been having. But the nightmares of explosions and battle fields. He dreams of being trapped under the falling rocks outside the cave, or of that blaster going off and shooting him in the head. They leave him waking in a cold sweat after, disrupting any little sleep he managed to get.

 

After a while, Hux notices the looks of curiosity and even worry from some of his crew. The General combats it by drinking double the amount of caf.

 

However, all of that eventually catches up with him during a meeting. Hux hadn’t realized that he was dozing off until someone called out his name.

 

“Hm? What?” Hux snaps his head up, not realizing that it had drooped. He glares at the officers around him. “ _What?_ ” He asks again with a sneer.

 

“Is the weapon ready for a test run?” The officer asks him, sounding slightly annoyed for having to repeat himself.

 

“Yes.” Hux snaps, before really hearing the question. “Oh. No. It’s not. It still needs a better stabilizer.” He mutters, rubbing his hand over his face, realizing that he was messing up a little. “You should _know_ that.” He adds, shifting the blame over to the officer who had asked the question in the first place.

 

That night, Hux sets aside the rest of his work for a one time only, early turn in. He’s going to start slipping if he didn’t get enough sleep. He even changes into his pajamas, and has a warm cup of tea, instead of his usual activity of falling asleep at his desk.

 

Hux slips into his bed, and is out as soon as head hit his pillow.

 

He wakes up only hours later, when he is plagued by another nightmare. Hux sits up with a groan, wondering why he was even having these dreams. It had been his first battle in years, but not his first battle in his life. Perhaps he has gotten too comfortable living aboard the starships. He had been promoted much too early. He didn’t have a chance to get used to battles before he was sheltered away from them.

 

Hux scowls and lays back down, determined to get some sleep, and prove to himself that he wasn’t a coward. He wouldn’t have nightmares anymore. And that was that.

 

\--

 

Hux wakes again as someone taps on his arm.

“Hey, babe. Did you fall asleep? Get up, we gotta go.” Hux blinks awake, realizing that he was sitting up with his head leaning against glass. His eyebrows furrow. He peels his face away from where it was stuck on the glass and turns to see Kylo. No. It was Ben again wasn’t it?   
  
Good. He’s still asleep.

 

“What’s happening?” Hux mumbles, before yawning deeply, and adjusting the glasses that had shifted on his face.

 

“We’re here. I’ll see you inside, okay? Then dinner. I promise. Don’t worry, I won’t get beat up too bad.” Ben says before leaning over to give Hux a kiss on the cheek and then exiting the car. Hux only just realizes he was in one of those Earth cars again. “Wish me luck.” Ben says before walking away.

 

Hux remains in the car for a few moments, looking out the window, and gaining his bearings. It was one of those odd dreams again, that he didn’t like thinking about. He didn’t know how to explain last time, and why the smell of the soap lingered on his skin. He had tried reasoning that he came into contact with something that had smelled similar and he just dreamt of it while smelling it outside of the dream. Or that he had just imagined the whole thing. The only thing preventing that from being the answer was that Kylo had smelled him. So instead, he chose just not to think on it. Eventually, with all the fuss with _Breath Taker_ , he had somewhat forgotten it happened in the first place.

 

Hux eventually steps out of the car, and glances around at his surroundings. There's  a line of people from across the lot, more cars parked around, and it seems that everyone is trying to get into the entrance that the line is in front of. Still, he tries to go in the direction he saw Ben go.

 

Coming up to the door he saw Ben go behind, a man stops him from entering. “Fighters only.” The security guard says in a gruff voice.

 

“I’m just trying to find Ben.” Hux mutters, moving to walk through the door when the man presses a hand to his chest and stops him from moving forward. Hux huffs out in annoyance. How dare this man.

 

“Yeah right. If you want to watch the match, then get in line like everyone else.” The man explains. “Get going, before I _make_ you leave.”

 

Hux turns with a sneer before storming off to where the line was. There was a sign that read, “Entry” in the High Galactic Alphabet, so he supposes this is where he could get in. How dare Ben just leave him in this strange place.

 

“Ticket.” A woman asks, as Hux’s turn comes up to the entry way.

 

“Ticket?” Hux repeats in confusion, “Oh. I don’t think I…” He reaches into his pockets and finds a slip of paper hidden in one. “Is this it?”

 

“Yep. Oh front row. Lucky you.” She says before allowing Hux to enter. He is then ushered into a room with a square ring in the center which Hux can recognize as a fighting ring, on just about any planet. He is guided to his seat in the front row, and he fidgets slightly. Was Ben to fight here?

Hux had to wait for quite a while before anything even started. He stares around at the crowd that starts trickling into the large area. Mainly men, but quite a few women too, all dressed in a type of fashion Hux isn’t used to. It is all very casual. Simple shirts and simple pants. Didn’t anyone have a sense of pride on this planet to dress to impress?

 

The light grow dim, and an announcer’s voice suddenly boomed in the area causing Hux to flinch as he’s startled. He scowls again and crosses his arms. He’s already decided that he is having a bad time.

 

The crowd grows rowdy as the fighting match starts, making this much too annoying for Hux. He sighs out and curses Ben for making him sit through this. Where _was_ he?

 

And just as he thinks that, the announcer suddenly announces loudly the fighters of the match.

 

“And the reigning champion, Kylo Ren!” Hux turns to see Ben emerging from the side and the crowd roars. Hux’s eyebrows rise at the amount of fans Ben appears to have. Ben marches into the ring, really playing the crowd with the energy he was emitting, clapping his gloved hands together.

 

Hux scoffs, but his lips twitch in an amused smile. It seems that Kylo would always be a fighter anywhere.

 

The match starts, and Hux watches with his arms still crossed, trying to look as stoic as ever. But Ben here is nearly as skilled as Kylo is in hand to hand combat. He is fast. He is powerful. And the match is over in the last round as Kylo knocks out his opponent to the point of unconsciousness.

 

The crowd roars and Kylo is named champion once more. Hux uncrosses his arms and claps along with the rest of the crowd again with his amused expression.

 

“Congratulations, Kylo. You’ve trained hard, and you’ve kept your title. Any words?” A woman asks into a microphone, before turning it to Kylo’s mouth.

 

“Thanks. Well, I just fight hard. I love it. And I’m good at it.” Kylo laughs, still panting with exhaustion. Hux rolls his eyes. What a horribly boring response. “But I also fight for someone. I know I’ve been secretive in my career, keeping my personal life very hidden from you guys. But...I’ve got an announcement to make to you guys tonight.”

 

The woman interviewing Kylo suddenly looks very interested, turning to the crowd with a shocked expression. “Kylo Ren has an announcement! What is this announcement, Kylo?”

 

Kylo pauses for only a moment, before smiling. “Okay. See that man in the audience right there? The one with the red hair.” Kylo grins. The camera overhead that records and displays on the large screens, focus on a confused looking burly looking man with red hair and a beard. Kylo laughs and shakes his head. “No, not that one. The uh...skinnier one. Right there. Front row. Glasses. Yes. That one.”

 

Hux looks overhead at the screen, seeing his own face suddenly. His eyebrows furrow and he glares up at Kylo. What was he doing?

 

“Yeah that one. Okay. I met that man eight years ago. And _today_ , marks the fifth year we’ve been _married_. Happy Anniversary, babe! Sorry I had a match today.” Kylo waves to him from the ring. Hux hears the mixed reactions from the crowd. Most cheering. Some laughing. Some booing. Hux awkwardly waves back to Kylo, though he really just wants to duck his head. This wasn’t the kind of attention he was used to.

 

“Well there you have it. Kylo Ren is married! Sorry girls. He’s taken.” The announcer speaks, putting a hand over her chest with an exaggerated frown. Hux sees that Kylo winks at him from the ring, and Hux just looks away with an amused huff.

 

After the crowd pours out, Hux finds himself waiting around the car for Ben to return. He isn’t sure where else to go. Finally, the man does emerge, and they make eye contact. Ben is suddenly running towards him, and Hux’s first instincts are to run away. But this is Ben. Not Kylo. Ben isn’t running after him to attack him for any reason. He hopes. Hux doesn’t have time to chose what to do, because Ben envelopes him in a crushing hug. Hux groans, and Kylo doesn’t leave him much room to move.

 

“I did it babe. I told them about us. We don’t have to pretend anymore in public.” Ben breaths in relief, and kisses Hux’s cheek, before he’s kissing his lips deeply. Hux is shocked to say the least. He can smell the spiced soap on Ben’s skin, can feel the warmth radiating off of him. There’s a flash of light beside him, and suddenly a lot more, all going off in their direction.

 

Hux flinches, eyes going wide, as he’s reminded of the thermal detonators going off around him. He blinks several times, before realizing they aren’t under attack. Ben’s pulling away, and holding Hux to his side and posing for the pictures being taken. Hux is stiff, and unsure where to look. But Ben is waving, and holding him by his waist.

 

“How about a kiss for the camera?” One of the people holding a camera says.

 

Ben turns to face Hux, silently asking for permission, and Hux is slow on the uptake. He quietly shakes his head no, and Ben turns back to the people with cameras. “Sorry guys. It’s a no.” He tells them, before starting to lead Hux to the car. He opens the passenger side for him, and Hux eagerly slips in away from these people with their flashing cameras, and invasive looks.

 

They’re still taking pictures even as he just sits there in the passenger's side, and now he’s growing annoyed now that he’s gotten over the initial fright the lights had brought him. “Kriff off, already!” He barks at them. They fix him with an odd look, and Kylo slips into the driver's seat.

 

“Bye guys.” Ben tells the photographers before driving off. Hux sighs in relief, eyebrows furrowed deeply. “Hey, sorry about that. I know you’re not used to be around them. It gets annoying.”

 

Hux doesn’t comment on it.

 

“Let’s just get to our dinner reservations. Come on. It’ll be nice.” Ben tells Hux, seeing that the man looked irritated. “It’s still our anniversary. You haven’t even congratulated me on my win.” Ben pouts slightly.

 

Hux glances towards Ben, “Congratulations.” He says stiffly.

 

“Are you mad at me about something?” Ben asks.

 

“No.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes.” Hux snaps, before crossing his arms and glaring out the window.

 

“Then why are you acting like that? I thought you’d be ecstatic. Or proud. O-Or something. I just won, and came out to the whole damn audience, and everyone watching on TV. This is going to affect my career. We agreed it was time.” Ben grips the wheel tightly, annoyance with Hux seeping into his tone.

 

Hux stays silent, unsure of what Ben is talking about. But he knows he did miss that something significant had happened. Was it that Ben had made his personal life public, as opposed to his obvious fighter's pseudonym.

 

“Babe. ...Armitage. This is supposed to be a good night for both of us. I don’t want to go to our reservations if you’re going to be like this.” Ben says flatly. “Just tell me what’s wrong. I don’t want to fight tonight.”

 

Hux isn’t sure what was wrong. Those people had just irritated him is all. It made even these vivid Earth dreams into one of his battle nightmares. And Hux just doesn’t feel like playing along with the dream tonight.

 

“Why don’t you just read my mind, and figure it out?” Hux mutters, not willing to admit out loud that he was still having problems with his near death experience.

 

“What the fuck are you even talking about?” Ben shakes his head in irritation, “Read your mind? Look. Just tell me what’s wrong. God. You always make things so complicated.”

 

Hux pauses and glances toward Ben. “You don’t have the force?” He asks curiously, wondering what other restrictions this dream Ben had.

 

“...what?” Ben doesn’t seem to know what to say to that.

 

“The force. That mystical bantha shit you’re always going on about.”

 

“Okay, I only understood like, half of that? Are...are you okay?” Ben asks, his tone going from irritated to slightly concerned. He turns to face Hux. Hux stares back, and turns away when he couldn’t take the worried stare.

 

“Yes. I’m fine. Let’s just get to these reservations or whatever.” Hux sighs, and so does Ben.

 

The rest of the ride is silent, until Ben pulls up to a restaurant, and they both exit. They’re sat quickly, and Hux assesses the area. It seemed nice by this planet’s customs. He glances down at what he’s wearing and is glad to see he’s dressed similarly to the other’s in the area. Even Ben is, apparently showering and changing after his match.

 

Ben makes an attempt to smile at him, and Hux makes a harder attempt to return it. He wants to wake up now.

 

He’s passed a menu, and Hux glances through it. He doesn’t recognize the names of any of the entrees and when the waiter comes to take their order, he orders the same thing as Ben. When they’re left alone to wait for their food, Hux sighs.

 

“I’ve been...having these dreams…” Hux admits to Ben, realizing now that this was only a dream he was talking to. In a way, it was just like he was talking to himself in his head. He’s read a theory that most of life’s problem solving happens in dreams. Perhaps he should give it a test. Feeling more confident with that thought, Hux continues. “... well _all_ my dreams have been a little odd lately. But there’s these ones that have been causing me to lose sleep. They… well, they frighten me to put it bluntly. I had almost died not too long ago, and now it keeps replaying in my head-”

 

“When you got hit by the car?” Ben interrupts.  

 

Hux pauses. No that’s not what he’s talking about. But it’s the one that Ben remembers so he just nods. “Right… the car.” Hux is suddenly reminded of the aching pain he once felt on his torso. “But, now it just keeps replaying in my head at night. I thought I was stronger than this. I thought I had been taught to be. This shouldn’t _affect_ me so much. But I keep thinking about what would have happened if I were to have died? I keep thinking about the fear I felt. Those damn lights earlier, made me just-” Hux sighs out loudly, and runs a hand over his face. When his hand is back on the table, he feels Ben’s larger hand being placed over it. Hux looks up, and Ben is fixing him with that concerned gaze again. Hux is growing to both hate and appreciate it. No one ever does look to him quite like that.

 

“I had no idea you were still having trouble with that.” Ben states, his guilt evident in his expression. “W-Why didn’t you tell me? I would have helped you. I could have done _something_.”

 

“There’s nothing you can do, except just shut up and listen to me.” Hux sighs, but Ben seems to take that to heart, because his mouth is now shut tightly and he’s silently urging Hux to continue.

 

“In my dreams now...I’m dying. I keep waking in a cold sweat. Frightened. And I feel like my damn heart is going to beat out of my chest. It’s affecting me at work. I’m so tired now. More than before. I just...can’t handle it anymore… It needs to stop soon.” Hux buries his head in the hand he has free. Ben continues holding his other. “I have this project I have to do. It needs to come out perfect or...or I fear for my...” _life. “_...my job…” He finishes.

 

“Armitage. I’m sure your job security is not depending on one project.” Ben replies softly.

 

Hux only just realizes how odd his first name sounds when Ben says it. He’s used to Kylo just muttering ‘General’, through that helmet of his.

 

“Just listen. Remember?” Hux mutters, and Ben goes back to shutting up for only a moment before Hux can tell he’s about to speak again.

 

“It sounds to me like you’re having Post Traumatic Stress over your near death experience. Haven’t you been talking to your psychiatrist about the accident?”

 

“I haven’t told this to anyone.” Hux replies, not liking that answer. His father would brush off that term of Post Traumatic Stress as him just being weak.

 

“Well I think you need to tell him. I know you don’t like talking to your doctor, but after what happened last time, I think it’s obvious that you have some stress and anxiety issues. I don’t want you having another episode.” Ben tells Hux seriously. But that doesn’t solve any of Hux’s issues. He had opened up so he could gain some insight. This didn’t help.

 

“Fine…” Hux mutters, just to drop the subject.

 

“Okay.” Ben nods, pulling his hand back now. “If you ever have a nightmare, I’m there right next to you, babe. Just wake me up.”  

 

Hux nods, and turns away. That hadn’t helped at all. He makes a note to never open up to anyone again. Not even some dream projection of Kylo.

 

“I’m glad you told me.” Ben breathes, sliding Hux’s hand across the table before pressing a kiss to his knuckles, and over the wedding band fixed to his ring finger.

 

Hux is just reminded of how odd these dreams are. Real Kylo was volatile, short tempered, hot headed. None of these attributes that Ben seemed to show.

 

Their food is brought to the table, and Hux notices that it all smells good. He’s given a soup, a glass of wine, and some roasted beast that had been covered in a delectable smelling sauce, covered in some vegetation.  Once he starts digging in, Hux notices that everything tastes just as wonderful as it appears. Every taste lingers. Every flavor compliments the other. He hums in delight under his breath and works on clearing his plate. He really needed to get some better food brought to him on the Finalizer.

 

They eat in peace, Hux too occupied with his meal to pay any more attention to Ben. But soon enough, Ben is taking something out of his inside of his jacket and placing it on a table. A gift of some sort.

 

“I know we were gonna wait till we were back home. But I can’t wait any longer.” Ben grins, pushing the package across the table with an eager expression. “Open it.”

 

Hux reaches out with a thoughtful expression. He takes the package and turns it in his hand a few times. The wrapping is gold, while the bow is a creme color. He gently unwraps it, tugging off the bow, and removing the wrapping to reveal a standard box with a brand he doesn’t recognize on the top. He opens the box to find a watch inside. It’s sleek and gives off a good sharp look, and Hux finds himself thinking, if it wasn’t such a primitive looking object, he would have bought something like this outside of his dream.

 

Hux brings out the watch from it’s case, and turns it over in his hand. There are white stripes going down the black band of the watch, that Hux find eerily similar to his general stripes. There’s also a ring of white and red that go across the face of the clock, that also remind Hux of the first order insignia when it’s paired with the style of the watches numbers.

 

“I know you said not to splurge on money. But I saw you had your eye on it. And...well...I love it when you’re happy, babe.” Kylo says, with a bashful shrug. “Go on put it on.”

 

Hux fiddles with the band of the watch for a moment before fitting it around his wrist and secures the item. It fits well, and the size is good.

 

“Thank you.” He says softly, looking up at Ben’s expressive eyes. He sighs shortly. Maybe he’s being a little short with the man. They go back to eating, and Hux goes over what he knows about himself and Ben in the dreams.

 

“Can you tell me how we met?” Hux asks after a few minutes. “How you fell in love with me…”

 

“You don’t remember?” Ben asks looking both offended and amused.

 

“No. I mean...from your point of view. I _remember_.” Hux lies. “I just want to hear it from how you experienced.”

 

Ben hums and places his fork down, and rests his cheek on his hand, elbow on the table. “Well. You know, when I returned from my time in the service, I was...in a bad place. My anger issues were through the roof. I was short with everybody. My parents didn’t know how to listen to my problems. And everyone was just...you know, avoiding me. And then I meet you, and you had no patience to deal with me being a shit to you.” He laughs. “You weren’t afraid. You weren’t intimidated… You just treated me like a person. I walked onto campus of that school you were substituting for, in my uniform, nervous as hell. And when I couldn’t go through with my stupid little speech for the kids, you told me that they were a bunch of little brats who wouldn’t be paying attention to half the things I said, and that I was foolish to be nervous. Which got me pissed of course. But you didn’t care. I could have beat you to a pulp, but you just didn’t care. And then I asked for your number before I left campus.” He sniggers. “I guess I was just glad to find someone who treated me like an equal. But hey, you already know all this… I think you just like hearing about yourself.” Ben finishes with a grin.

 

Hux pauses and takes it in, thinking that that Ben was more of the Kylo he knew. The Ben he saw before him was possibly who he was, once you took down the threat of war, fighting, and pressures from his life. Once Kylo falls in love and softens up, Hux realizes, that you get Ben.

 

“I do.” Hux finally replies with a smile. He sighs and continues eating his food, glancing down at his watch every few moments. He really has to admit, that it was a lovely thing.

 

Their dinner goes by smoother afterward. Ben goes on about things that Hux isn’t quite sure he understands, but he nods along, and laughs at the right moments. But after a while, Hux finds that he likes Ben’s company. His humor is dark, and often at the expense of laughing at someone’s misfortune, but it makes Hux laugh. Hux also notices that Ben’s face gets very expressive when he speaks, and mimics other people. It was a shame Kylo continue wearing his mask, in reality.

 

Ben pays for their meal, and they depart home. Hux feels light, and relaxed as he’s in the car, watching the world of Earth go by. It appeared to be a peaceful planet, from what he could tell. But it was a bit too much like the New Republic cities for his tastes. The ride was long, but eventually, Hux is stepping back into the same home as his past dreams.

 

He removes his coat, and places where he sees Ben places his own. As he turns, Ben is suddenly on him, and Hux tenses up as he’s embraced. Ben is kissing him gently, hands along his lower back. Hux moves his mouth away with a light grimace, and pulls away gently. He sees confusion on Ben’s face and he shrugs.

 

“I’ve got bad breath from the meal.” Hux replies to which Ben just rolls his eyes with a grin.

 

“Okay. Um, present time then. Where’d you hide my gift?” Ben asks excitedly, crossing the short distance between himself and Hux, and putting his hands along his shoulders.

 

“Uh...yes. Your gift…” Hux mutters, having no idea where he even had a gift for Ben in the house. He scratches the back of his head, and glances around the living room. “You’ve...got to find it. Mhm. Yes. I’ve hidden it.” He concludes, hiding another grimace.

 

Ben raises an eyebrow but he eventually pulls away and glances around the living room. He trails off to start searching, and Hux watches him, hoping that Ben finds it soon. He also hopes that ‘dream him’ even got Ben a gift in return.

 

“...where the fuck is it?” Ben mutters under his breath, getting to his knees to start searching below the couches and tables. He stands up too quickly, and a loud smacking noise makes Hux hide a laugh behind his hand. Ben stands, rubbing his head, where he had just hit it on the corner of a table, giving a pointed look to Hux. “Don’t laugh, asshole. This is your fault.” He grumbles with a wry smile.

 

“I’m not laughing. And that was hardly my fault. You’re just not watching where you’re going.” Hux replies with an amused smile, putting his hands behind his back patiently as Ben continued looking around.

 

Ben continues searching for a few minutes, leaving the living room to check the other rooms as well. Hux follows him, watching as he went through all the cabinets and closets.

 

“You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?” Ben asks him as he closes another cabinet, and turning to Hux. “Either you forgot to get me something, _or_ ….” He smirks, walking over to Hux and lifting his shirt, exposing his stomach but Hux bats Ben’s hands away. “Oh. So nothing special under there, huh?” Ben laughs, and pulls away. “Okay then I give up, Armitage. Just _give_ it to me.” He practically wines, and Hux sighs.

 

“Okay. Truth is…I hid it so well, that I forgot where I placed it.” Hux tells Ben with a guilty look, glancing to the side. He pauses, noticing a bright ribbon sticking out from under the pillow of a bed. His brows furrow and he heads toward it, uncovering the wrapped package from behind the pillow. “It’s right here, you idiot.” Hux announces, placing the gift in Ben’s hand.

 

“Oh I’m the idiot? Not the guy who just claimed that he hid a present so well, that he lost it. When it was just behind a pillow?” Ben shoots back, before glancing down at his present. He starts to unwrap it excitedly, and tosses the paper aside. Hux brows furrow at that.

 

“You’re picking that up later.” Hux tells him. He wonders with amusement, why it even matters. It’s not like it was his actual home.

 

Ben ignores the comment, and unboxes what’s in his hand. “Yesss! You got me the sunglasses.” He shouts, presenting a pair of dark glasses.

 

Hux wants to shrug, since he ha no idea what had been in the box to begin with. It appears that Ben had wanted glasses for the sun. Well actually, now that Hux looks at the style, they do look a bit like the visor part of Kylo’s helmet.

 

“I love them, babe. Thanks.” Ben says, placing the glasses on his face, and leaning over to place a kiss on Hux’s cheek. “I look cool right?” He asks, stepping back for Hux to see, even posing a little which made Hux laugh a bit.

 

“Sure. Very cool.” He replies with a nod, feeling okay about the kiss on his cheek. It was getting a little fun just to play along now. The Ben here was agreeable and Hux was enjoying his company.  

 

“You bet your ass I do.” Ben adds before taking them off and placing them back in a case. “So. How about we finish this evening with some wine, and a little love making, hm?” Ben asks, with a suggestive expression.

 

Hux resists a sigh. “Um. No thanks.” It might still just be a dream, but he had standards. And agreeing to sleep with the man who looks like the one who torments him on a ship, wasn’t exactly ideal. When he sees Ben’s disappointment, and hurt at the way he was brushed off, Hux hesitates. “I think I ate too much. My stomach is kind of hurting.” He lies instead. “Another time. We’ll make it...really special.” Hux tells Ben instead, trying to sound enthusiastic about it.  

 

“Okay. No problem, my love.” Ben replies, “Let’s just head to sleep then.”

 

Hux nods, and heads off to get ready for bed how he did last time, grabbing the first set of pajamas he found, and showering. He walks back into the room minutes later, and shouts in surprise as he’s suddenly grabbed and hauled off his feet. He has a moment of panic, where he think he’s being attacked, but after a moment, remembers that he’s not in the middle of battle.

 

“Ah! Ben. Put me down.” Hux snaps, kicking his legs and squirming in his grip. He’s deposited on the bed, and he huffs in annoyance. “I said I had a stomach ache!” He complains.

 

“Oh. Shit. Sorry, I forgot.” Ben replies as he jumps into the bed, laying besides Hux and facing him. “You just seemed a little stressed today. I was trying to loosen you up.” He admitted with an apologetic frown.

 

Hux sighs, but doesn’t complain any further. He brings his hand up to place under the pillow beneath his head and looks to Ben. He could hear the watch ticking by his ear, having had put it back on after his shower, not knowing what else to do with it. There’s a sudden beeping under his pillow, and Hux sits up to look underneath.

  
“It’s just the watch. It has an alarm on it.” Ben states, reaching forward and deactivating the alarm. Hux settles down and takes a deep breath, getting comfortable in the soft bed.

 

“Happy Anniversary, Armitage.” Ben says softly, leaning forward to place a kiss on the tip of Hux’s nose.

 

“...Happy Anniversary, Ben.” Hux says in return.

 

“I promise next year, we’ll actually go on vacation or something.”

 

“Okay. That’ll be fun.” Hux replies, growing sleepy, and allowing himself to talk to Ben as if they were actually married.

 

“Okay good. Goodnight. Love you.”

 

“Love you too…” Hux mumbles before falling asleep.

 

_Beep beep beep beep…._

 

Hux wakes to the noise, blinking and sitting up in his bed. He glances around at the room, curious as to what he soft beeping noise is. He checks his wrist on instinct, pulling his sleeve back, and sees nothing. He blinks in confusion, and rolls his sleeve back down. He listens closely around his quarters, realizing that the noise sounds vaguely familiar to a thermal detonator about to go off. He suddenly springs from his bed as that thought catches up with him, and he’s stumbling out into the hall before he could think rationally.

 

Hux swallows down as he remembers some of his dream, pulling the pieces back together like a memory. He’s breathing heavy and leaning against the wall opposite of the one outside the entrance to his quarters, waiting for an explosion but nothing comes.

 

“ _General_.”

 

Hux jumps in fright as the voice of a trooper suddenly speaks beside him. He turns with wide panicked eyes, looking to the trooper.

 

“General, are you alright?” The stormtrooper asks, causing Hux to blink a few times.

 

“I... “ Hux swallows, and turns back to his quarters. “I’m fine.” He growls, as he realizes that he either heard wrong, or there is a dud thermal detonator in his quarters.

 

The stormtrooper is silent for a moment, clearly not believing, but she speaks anyways. “Kylo Ren’s ship has landed in Hanger Bay 11B.” She announces.

 

Hux blinks a few times again, realizing what she had just said. Kylo Ren was back. His training was done. “Good. Send him here. There’s a delicate matter that needs to be attended to in my quarters. And clear out the area.” He states.

 

The trooper was silent again for some time. “What protocol do I do, General?” She asks, hesitantly.

 

“Evacuation!” Hux snaps, hating how slow this trooper was being. “There’s a potential thermal detonator in my room. Hurry up!” He growls. He watches her scurry off and he sighs. Even with the threat, he feels safe for the moment. A thermal detonator would have gone off already.

 

Minutes later, Kylo Ren is walking down the hallway, thankfully alone.

 

“I arrive here, after extensive training, and the first thing you call me for is defusing?!” Kylo growls, as he stomps forward. “We have a whole division of troopers for that!”

 

Suddenly Hux is regretting calling Kylo for his help. Why had he even done it? Kylo was right. They did have trained troopers.

 

“I didn’t want a bunch of trooper in my personal quarters.” Hux states in response. “This needed to be handled discreetly, and with someone…” Hux pauses, about to mutter ‘I trust’, but that was not true. He didn’t trust Kylo with anything, let alone a thermal detonator that could possibly be in his room. “...of my own ranking.” He finishes, and out loud, it sounds like a horrible reason. “Look, are you going to help or not. This could have been an attempted assassination, and treason. We don’t want another FN-2187 incident, do we?”

 

That seems to get to Kylo, because he’s already turning to Hux’s quarters and letting himself in, after only waving a hand to get the door to open. Hux scoffs but lingers in the doorway as he watches Kylo search. The man stalks through the room, flipping his things unceremoniously, making Hux sigh. Though, Hux feels as though he’s hit with familiarity at the sight. The Knight might be wearing his mask, but it was still that same face under there as Ben, except this time he was looking for a thermal detonator and not an anniversary gift.

“There’s nothing here.” Kylo announces, annoyance evident in his tone. “Why did you even think there was one in the first place?”

 

“I heard it.” Hux replies, taking a step in cautiously.

 

“Heard what?”

 

“The beeping. Before the timer goes off.”

 

“Where?” Kylo asks, searching around himself.

 

“By the bed. It woke me up.” Hux answers.

 

There’s a sudden hissing noise as Kylo presses the release on his helmet and it starts coming undone. He removes it, and the familiar face of Kylo Ren is presented, just like Ben, with the exception of the long scar across his face. Hux is thrown at the sight, not having seen Kylo in a while, and after one of those vivid dreams, it was hard not to feel awkward about being around a man who had kissed him recently. But even weirder, Hux couldn’t help but feel an odd fondness at the familiar face before him. Like seeing a friend.

 

Kylo’s brows are furrowed as he appears to be concentrating on something. And for a moment, it looks like he hears something, but then he speaks.

  
“I don’t hear anything.” Kylo growls. “Are you messing with me?” He asks, stomping over to Hux, and looming over him. Hux holds his ground as always, and glances up.

 

“No. I _heard_ it. I ran out, because I feared for my life. I would never make this up, I assure you.”

 

“And what were you doing before? Sleeping, I assume?” Kylo asks, glancing down at Hux, making it obvious that he wasn’t impressed with Hux’s sleepwear look.

 

Hux glances down for a moment as well, only just realizing that in the chaos of his rude awakening, he was still in his pajamas, and his hair was flopping down over his face. He wasn’t even wearing boots. His face heats up in humiliation and embarrassment. Even his troopers had seem him like that. Anybody on the security feed had seen him.

 

“What of it?” Hux snaps.

 

“Well, General. Perhaps you just had a nightmare.” Kylo replies, his tone anything but concerned. In fact he sounded amused.

 

“I did not.” Hux growls, grinding his teeth together. “This isn’t caused by some silly nightmare.”

 

“No? I sense nothing in your room. Hear nothing. See nothing, but you in your pajamas, and I can feel the inner turmoil raging inside you. ...Your dreams frighten you, General.” Kylo’s lips twitch upward in a small smirk. “You’re afraid to sleep.”

 

“Stop it!” Hux snaps, “Get out of my room, and get your filthy powers out of my mind.”

 

Kylo quiets for a few moments, a smug look on his face. He finally steps aside and puts his helmet back on as he saunters toward the exit.

 

“One battle and it’s made you so weak. You’re slipping, General. I’d be careful if I were you…” Hux hears through the distortion of Kylo’s mask, before the door closes, leaving him alone in his quarters. And as the silence envelops him, he hears the beeping once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry for taking so long. I had suddenly found myself with very little leisure time once my semester started. Hopefully I won't take as long next time. And hopefully you guys are actually liking the story? lol I also don't have someone to proof read, so sorry if there are mistakes. 
> 
> Tumblr: http://dargason-under-the-fantasia.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> I want this to be multichapter story and will do my best to keep it going. Perhaps give me motivation if you like it?  
> Art is by me: http://dargason-under-the-fantasia.tumblr.com/  
> Come hang with me there if you'd like!


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